Puppy Love
by ZivaFan2481
Summary: Gibbs learns of Ziva's love for dogs after watching McGee's dog for a week. Will the experience bring a new member to the family? Established Zibbs.


A/N: After watching the season finale, I just had to write some fluff. This is what came out of it and I hope you enjoy it. Also, I use the name Amira in here but it has nothing to do with the little girl Amira in the show, I just really like the name.

Disclaimer: NCIS is not mine sadly. I wish it was though…

Ziva walked down the stairs in the early morning hours dressed in her running clothes and was instantly reminded of their guest that stayed the night. Jethro bounded over to her and nudged her hand, clearly wanting attention from the Israeli. "Hello to you too Jethro." She said as she knelt down to pet the German Shepherd.

The dog was staying with Ziva and Gibbs for the week as McGee was taking a vacation with MIT buddies to some seminar on new technology. McGee had approached Ziva the day before he left because he felt that he would have more luck with her than her husband. Ziva was reluctant at first but when she heard that Jethro would have no place to go besides a kennel, she agreed.

Gibbs was surprised to find a dog in his house Sunday afternoon to say the least, but Ziva assured him that the dog would be fine.

Now it was the Saturday morning, the day of which McGee would be getting back from Florida and Ziva had rather enjoyed the dog's company. She stood up and went to grab the leash near the door. "Come on, one more walk with me and then we will give you back." She said as she opened the door and the dog followed her out into the first rays of sun and the cool air.

The pair walked out to the sidewalk and took Ziva's normal route around the neighborhood that was still asleep. On a whim, Ziva headed to the small park that was not too far away and let the dog run off the leash. It was not that much of an issue as Jethro never went that far off and always returned to the Israeli when she called.

Ziva was enjoying the open air so much that when she looked at her phone, she realized that she had been out way longer than she normally was. By this time her husband would be awake and knowing him, hungry. "Jethro!" The German Shepherd instantly turned his head to her and trotted back. "Come on, we got to get home before Gibbs gets worried about us."

They headed in the way that they came and within a half an hour the pair was walking up to the Gibbs residence. Sure enough as soon as they got in the door Ziva smelt the coffee that told her that Gibbs was up. "I'm home, sorry we got a little side tracked."

Ziva turned the corner and saw Gibbs sitting on the couch reading the paper with a steaming cup of coffee in his hands. He looked over the paper at his wife's voice and gave his trademark half smile. "I was going to call you soon if you didn't come home." He said as he got up and walked over to Ziva and gave her a good morning kiss. He was in a pair of jeans and a USMC t-shirt that Ziva found rather attractive. "Now what got you sidetracked?"

Ziva gave him another quick kiss and headed to the kitchen for a glass of water with Jethro by her side. "Jethro and I stopped by the park to run around and lost track of time." She bent down to fill Jethro's bowl with some fresh water which the dog slurped up happily. "I figured that since it was his last day with us, he should have some fun."

Jethro smiled at his wife. "You really like that dog don't you?" Ziva nodded and scratched the dog's head before standing to approach her husband.

"Yes I do, but for now look after him while I take a shower. I will be right back down and then maybe we can figure out what we want to do for the day." She said as she turned and went upstairs to clean up and get dressed for the day.

Jethro watched her as she left and looked at Gibbs. "What? She will be right back." He shook his head as he realized that he was practically talking to himself, but the dog seemed to understand. As Gibbs sat back on the couch, Jethro took up a place next to him and sat down at his feet. Gibbs sighed, "You know, if you weren't McGee's dog, Ziva would probably do everything to keep you." Jethro barked in agreement and then settled down again.

Gibbs picked up the paper again and started reading until an interesting advertisement about an event that weekend caught his eye. He had just finished reading it as Ziva came down to join him. "We have to get him ready Gibbs; McGee will be over any minute." Ziva said with a hint of reluctance in her voice. She was wearing some yoga pants and a loose, blue top with a deep V revealing a light blue camisole underneath. Her hair was down and had light make up on, just enough for whatever a casual weekend could bring them.

Jethro got up as soon as he saw Ziva and waited obediently as she took a seat on the couch. Gibbs smiled at how Ziva reacted to the dog as she relaxed and started to pet him. "I thought you said you were good with horses, didn't know that your way with animals applied to all of them." He stated casually.

Ziva shrugged. "I have always loved animals. They are, well… I don't know how to describe it. I just love them; they can be so gentle and so fiercely loyal at the same time. Plus, no matter what you do, they will always be there for you." Ziva looked up from the dog to Gibbs who had a small smiling gracing his features and rolled her eyes. "Hey, no laughing from you. I can be sentimental and emotional sometimes if I want to be."

Gibbs smile only grew. "I didn't laugh, just thinking." Ziva raised an eyebrow and was going to ask him about his thoughts as the doorbell rang. "That must be McGee, can you get Jethro's stuff." She instructed Gibbs before going to open the door for McGee.

She opened the door with Jethro close at her heels. "Hello McGee, how was your trip?" She asked her slightly sunburned coworker.

McGee was going to answer but Jethro stole his attention by pouncing on him. "Hey Jethro, it is good to see you too." McGee smiled at Ziva who indicated for him to come into the house. "Hi Ziva, thanks for watching him. The trip was good, even had some time to hit the beaches a few days."

The three walked into the living room to find Gibbs with a bag of Jethro's things. Gibbs took one look at his agent and smirked. "I can see that McGee." Ziva laughed and stood besides Gibbs. "Your dog was in good hands McGee; Ziva pampered him so much I wasn't sure that I would be able to separate the two of them sometimes."

Ziva playfully hit him in the shoulder. "You are just jealous because you were not the only Jethro that received my attention in the house." Gibbs shrugged and looked at McGee who looked a little out of place and tired.

"Well thanks again for watching him, I got to go and catch up on some sleep before Monday." He headed towards the door with Jethro in tow. "See you later."

The couple stood at the doorway watching McGee leave. "Shalom McGee." Ziva said before he got into his car and drove out of sight.

Gibbs stood behind Ziva, "I want to show you something today." Ziva looked at him curiously. "We will grab an early lunch on the way, just grab your things and I will meet you in the car."

Knowing that she would not get anything out of him, she did as she was told. Within a few minutes, she was getting in the passenger seat of the Charger. "So where are we off to?" Ziva tried again.

"Going to eat first and then I'll tell you." Gibbs smirked knowing that Ziva was digging for information. He pulled out of the drive way and sped down the street.

After a quick bite at his favorite diner, they were in the road again. "Do I get to know what we are doing now?" Ziva asked and pouted like a little girl when he shook his head.

"You're an investigator Ziver, you'll figure it out soon enough." He smiled at her humph and then let the car fall into a comfortable silence.

They arrived at Shenandoah Park in less than a half a hour and Ziva looked rather confused. "Is there a case that I don't know about?"

Gibbs couldn't stop from laughing a little. "Nope, you know parks are used for more than just disposing bodies." He deadpanned as he got out of the car.

Ziva followed his lead and the pair walked down a shady path. "Oh, well I knew that but it is just we do find a lot of bodies here." She looked around at the trees and the nearby patch of grassy land. "What is going on over there Gibbs?" Ziva inquired when she saw some tents set up and a group of people around them. "Can we go see?"

Gibbs wrapped his arm around her waist as they approached the event he saw advertised in the paper. "Yes we can, especially 'cause I was planning on showing you what they are doing." Ziva looked up at him and he just nodded his head in the direction of the tents. "Come on, I think you will like it."

She seemed to take it as an acceptable answer and continued to walk with her husband. Soon she caught sight of what was in the tent and sped up a little with Gibbs not missing a beat. "An adoption event?" Gibbs just nodded and enjoyed the smile that lit of her face as she eyed the dogs in front of her. The local humane society was having its annual adoption day and there were of no shortage of dogs. In kennels and enclosures were multiple breeds varying in size and age.

"I said you would like it." He said holding onto Ziva's hand as she made her way through the crowd of people. She went straight to one of the pens that held the bigger dogs and crouched down next to a Border Collie who was seeking attention from the crowd.

Ziva couldn't seem to stop smiling as even more dogs approached her and she looked up to Gibbs with her warm, brown eyes. "Can we get one, Jethro?"

Since the morning he was planning on letting her get a dog so he nodded. "Why do you think I brought you here? I know that even if I said no right now, you would still manage to bring one home." He smiled as she was about to retort but realized what he said was true. "Plus, I noticed how much you loved Jethro and I want you to be happy so pick out your dog."

Ziva rose from her position to give Gibbs a quick kiss. "You know I love you." She stated and he nodded. "Good. Now you will help me choose because if it was up to me, we would be bringing home more than one."

With his half smile he turned away from her to look at the energetic dogs. "Okay then, I take it you want a big dog."

She looked at him with a small smile. "Yes I do, unless of course you want to have a nice lap dog although that might ruin your tough marine reputation. " She teased him.

"Wouldn't want that. So big dog it is." Gibbs responded to her teasing. "You have any breeds in mind?"

Ziva sighed, deep in concentration as she surveyed the dogs in front of her. The dogs were separated mostly by size so she was looking at mostly sporting, herding, and working breeds. "Maybe an Alaskan Malamute, Siberian Husky, Australian Shepherd, or a Border Collie. Wait maybe a Golden Retriever." She shook her head confused. "I don't know, they are all so cute."

"Cute?" Gibbs asked skeptically looking at the dogs.

"Yes," Ziva said firmly but the curve of her lips gave away that she was a little embarrassed. "What do you think?" Without waiting for an answer, she posed another question. "Perhaps we should try to pick an age so we can see what they have available, yes?"

She turned toward the tent with the volunteers running the adoption clinic and Ziva was able to catch one that was not busy with another customer. "Excuse me, can you help us?"

The girl turned to Ziva; she was a teenager with brown hair and brown eyes. In fact, the two could have been mistaken as sisters if someone just glanced at them. "Sure, my name is Maria. Do you want to adopt?"

"Hello Maria, I am Ziva and this is Gibbs." Ziva introduced herself and Gibbs gave a nod to the volunteer. "And yes, we are hoping to adopt today, we just need to ask a few questions before choosing if you don't mind."

Maria nodded. "Sure, what do you need to know?"

"I guess we want to know what breeds are available at a certain age, maybe no older than one?" Ziva looked at Gibbs for reassurance but he just let her take the lead, this dog was for her and he wanted her to be happy.

"We have plenty of puppies around," Maria said as she started walking to a different tent. "But, I must warn you, the young ones aren't trained that well yet so you would have to do that bit. Is that what you are looking for?"

"Training won't be an issue." Gibbs said before Ziva was able to second guess her decision. Ziva looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "You were able to train DiNozzo; compared to him a puppy will be a piece of cake."

Ziva couldn't hold back her laughter. "I suppose you are correct." Then turning back to Maria who was studying the happy couple she continued. "We will be fine with the training. What breeds do you have around that age? Also we would prefer them to be not that small."

"I think you would want to go towards something in the sporting or working class." She thought out loud so they could object if they wanted to, but when they agreed she survived the tent. It was filled with small pens and cages filled with playful puppies. "I think we have some Border Collies, German Shepherds, Australian Shepherds, and maybe some Siberian Huskies. Any sound interesting to you?"

Gibbs eyed Ziva who looked conflicted. "Can we look at two and then decide?" Maria nodded. "I would like to see the Australian Shepherds and the Siberian Huskies."

"Of course, follow me." Maria told them before weaving their way through the pens.

Gibbs and Ziva took this time to talk. "Which one you leaning towards?" Gibbs asked.

"I am not sure. I like Australian Shepherds, they are energetic, willing to learn and work, and loyal. But, Siberian Huskies are also hard working and some have blue eyes." She said the last part almost as a whisper but Gibbs' keen ears picked it up and kissed her forehead. "Although, I do remember you saying once that you liked Australian Shepherds."

"I do, but I want you to be happy. Plus, I know you have a soft spot for blue eyes." He teased her and loved how she blushed. "I just have one condition, we can't name it Jethro."

The Israeli's eyes twinkled in amusement. "So you were jealous of Jethro then." By this time they had stopped in front of a pen.

Maria bent down and picked up a young puppy. "Here are the Huskies. They are only about three months old and were rescued two months ago from the street." She handed the small, black and white, sleeping puppy to Ziva who was happy to hold it. "There are two girls and two boys and are healthy although they don't have all of their shots and are not fixed."

The puppy stirred in Ziva's hands and she turned to let Gibbs see the dog. It opened its eyes and Ziva was sad to find that they were not blue, but hazel. "What do you think Jethro?"

"I think we should look at your other choice before we decide." He said as he saw that she was not sold on the dog yet.

"Good idea." Ziva agreed as she set down the dog next to its brothers and sisters. "Could we see the others Maria?"

"Of course, they are right over here." She said and brought them a few pens down. "Now we have two of the Shepherds, both are close to one and we presume they are related and they have all the shots up to this point and are fixed." She indicated the two dogs in the pen who were rough housing with one another. "As you can see they are high energy dogs and love to play. They are both girls and we just picked them up from an abandoned house a few weeks ago."

Ziva bent down and clicked her tongue; the dogs perked up instantly and stared at her for a moment. One of the dogs trotted over to her while the other went to get food instead. The dog was mostly gray with black spots, but it also had tan on the paws and white on its belly and face and collar. "They are beautiful. Do they have names?"

Maria shook her head. "No, not yet. They have only been here for a short time and we thought that maybe we could get them adopted quickly so they could have only one name."

Seeing how Ziva played with the dog, Gibbs knew that she was interested and probably already had her mind set. "Can you take her out?"

Maria opened the gate to let out the one Ziva was petting. "This one seems to love people in general and is very laid back. But, she is also a little unusual, her breed is supposed to be energetic all the time and they usually want a lot of attention. But, so far she seems to be able to do well on her own for periods of time and she can be quite calm or relaxed without much exercise."

Standing up but still keeping her hand on the dog, she looked at Jethro. "We are gone for long periods of time and she is good around people. I think she would be perfect for us." The dog barked as if to agree. "Do you agree?" Gibbs bent down to pet the dog that was happy to meet him.

One look at Ziva and Gibbs knew that no matter what, the dog was going home with them. He got up and tugged her closer. "I think you are right, she is perfect." Ziva put on the smile that Gibbs thought was one of his only weaknesses (well besides Ziva in general) and she proceeded to give him a quick kiss. "Maria, what do we need to do?"

The volunteer smiled. "Just follow me and we can get all of the paperwork done. Here," she handed Ziva a leash hanging from the fence. "You can bring her along."

Ziva gladly took the leash and attached it to the dog's collar. "Thank you."

An hour passed as all of the paperwork was finished up before they were on their way home. They reached the car and the dog jumped right in without a fuss. Before Gibbs went over to the driver's side Ziva stopped him and pulled him close. "Thank you for doing this Jethro. I have wanted a dog since I was very young but was never able to get one." She gave him a proper kiss before letting him go to his side, not that he was complaining.

"Hey, you're welcome." Gibbs said before pulling out of the park. "But, you do know that we still have some work cut out for us today."

"Yes we do." Ziva agreed as she reached back to pet the dog looking out the window. "We have to get her food and all the other necessities and we also have to name her. Have any ideas?"

Gibbs looked back at the dog in the mirror. "Oh, we'll think of something."

The next weekend brought a little get together at the Gibbs' residence. It was a beautiful summer day and the team just needed a reason to get together. Ziva was actually the one to bring up the idea of having a late lunch at their place in a conversation she was having with McGee and Tony. She then went on to tell them about the new addition to the family and everyone was eager to meet her. Ziva even told McGee to bring Jethro along so he could make a friend.

The night that they brought the dog home they decided on a name. Ziva had suggested multiple names so Gibbs went through the list with her until they got it down to one. The dog's name was to be Amira, a name that Ziva had liked from an early age.

Amira fit right in at their house, being playful and energetic at times or being the silent and loyal dog that was there to comfort them if needed. She needed little training and always followed Ziva around no matter what.

Everyone brought some dish to pass to the party to not burden the hosts to much as it was just casual. Jethro did indeed come with McGee and after a quick stare down between the dogs, they became best friends rolling around and chasing each other. "Well, I guess I could return the favor if you and Gibbs ever want to take a vacation now." McGee offered and Ziva said that she would keep it in mind.

After the lunch ended, the team just had time to relax and talk something that they couldn't do that often. Most of the team members were in chairs or on benches in the shade while Abby and Ziva were sitting on a blanket playing with Amira and Jethro. "She is so cute, Ziva." Abby began. "You should bring her to work! I could take care of her when you are out and-"

Ziva interrupted her before she could get into a whole monologue. "Abby, I doubt Vance would allow that, but you are welcome to come over to play with her." Abby shrugged in semi-defeat but went back to scratching Jethro.

Gibbs nodded in agreement and pulled Ziva up to sit with him. Ziva wrapped her arms around Gibbs and gave him a quick kiss. Tony had to comment, "Hey, not in front of the kids!" He exclaimed in mock horror.

Ducky laughed. "I think you have forgotten that Ziva is younger than you Anthony."

Tony was receiving two glares from the couple; even Amira turned to Tony and growled. Tony stuttered. "Um, well Jimmy agrees with me. Don't you Autopsy Gremlin?"

"Don't pull me down with you Tony." Jimmy stated and received a smile from Ziva. Tony on the other hand was eyeing Amira wearily.

Ziva called Amira off. "Do not mind her, she is just protecting us." Tony relaxed a bit when the Amira went back to Abby.

"She has to earn her keep somehow." Gibbs stated and grunted as Ziva gave him a light punch. "What?"

"She is protective because that is her nature and do not deny it, you love her too." Ziva smiled and Amira barked as if to back her up.

"Guess so, as long as she makes you happy." Ziva accepted his answer so Gibbs continued. "But I love you more." He said as he kissed her hand.

Ziva smiled and blushed a little when she noticed everyone was watching discreetly. "I love you too Jethro." Just as she was about to say something else, she heard Amira whine. The dog came over and was nudging her leg. "I didn't forget about you Amira, we love you too."

Amira barked and then leaped up on to their laps. She already big at one year old and almost caused the bench to fall over. The others laughed as they regained their balance. "She will fit right in here; she is caring, protective, and a little bit crazy. All the requirements to needed to join this dysfunctional family."Abby said matter of factly.

"Dysfunctional? Maybe," Ziva shrugged and looked at Gibbs lovingly with Amira on their laps, "But I wouldn't change a thing."


End file.
